Cafeteria tray rail



p i 24, 1962 D. H. PHILLIPS 3,031,245

CAFETERIA TRAY RAIL Filed Aug. 11, 1960 INVENTOR. DONALD H- PHILLIPSAGENT United States Patent 3,031,245 Patented Apr. 24, 1962 fifice3,031,245 CAFETERIA TRAY RAIL Donald H. Phillips, 1031 SW. 51st Ave,Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Filed Aug. 11, 1960, Ser. No. 48,954 6 Claims.((Ii. 312-140A) This invention relates to the serving of food and in amore specific aspect to the serving of food in a restaurant of theself-service type known as a cafeteria.

In a cafeteria a counter is provided on which various items of food areplaced for perusal and selection by the patrons. Customers pass alongsaid counter with a tray on which selected food items are placed and inthe usual cafeteria operation the trays are supported on a tray railalong the front of the food counter. The tray is transported by thepatron sliding the tray along the tray rail in a direction parallel tothe front surface of the counter.

Tray rails in use today are usually made up of a plurality of parallelrails spaced apart with each of said parallel rails lying in the samehorizontal plane so as to provide a flat surface on which the bottom ofthe tray rests. Due to the fact that each of said parallel rails is inthe same plane, any tray placed on the rails cannot only be movedlongitudinally but can also be moved laterally and vertically from thecounter and the rail itself. In fact the only movement prevented by sucha rail is movement in a downwardly direction.

My invention relates to a means for holding said tray in a position soas to prevent movement of the tray in any direction other than adirection parallel with the lengthwise dimension of the counter and thetray rail itself.

It has been found that in tray rails now in use it is not uncommon forthe tray to be inadvertently knocked off the tray rail, either by thepatron himself or the patron next following, spilling the contents ofthe tray on the clothing of the patron, on other customers, or onto thefloor, with the result that the dishes are broken, food is wasted, andthe entire operation of the cafeteria line must be suspended until theresulting debris is cleaned up. An object of this invention is toprovide means for locking the tray in position during the trip along thecounter in such a manner that it cannot be knocked off the tray railthereby preventing such accidents.

Another undesirable feature common to cafeteria operations isline-jumping. When a patron becomes annoyed with the slow progress ofthe patron immediately ahead of him he will usually try to pass theslower patron by removing his tray from the tray rail and, afterproceeding around the slow patron, replace his tray in a new position onthe rail. Usually the patron jumping the line is in an annoyed state ofmind and many times food is spilled and dishes are broken by him in hismovement around the slower patron. A further object of this invention isto provide a lock-in tray rail which prevents any line-jumping bykeeping each tray in position in the order in which they began movementalong the line. Faster and more efficient movement along the lineresults as a patron will be less likely to linger in the line when heknows several patrons are waiting for him to move on, especially whenthe waiting is accompanied by vocal encouragement to move on.

A still further object of my invention is to provide protection for theclothing of the patron when he leans against or over the tray rail inorder to see what items of food are available for his choice. In trayrails now in use, when the patrons body leans against the tray twothings are likely to occur: first, the patrons clothing will come incontact with the food already selected and placed on the tray; and,secondly, the tray will move in a lateral direction, due to the forceexerted by the patrons body against the side of the tray, therebyspilling food and dishes. My lock-in rail prevents either of theseevents from occurring by providing an extra rail member above the trayand between the outer edge of the tray and the body of the patron sothat when the patron leans over the tray rail his body comes in contactwith the extra rail member and not the tray itself. Said extra railmember also holds the clothing of the patron from coming in contact withthe food while he is in a leaning position.

In most cafeterias, a checker and/or a cashier is stationed at the endof the counter to give the patron a check or receive payment from thepatron. When a cafeteria operation is extremely busy and there areseveral people milling around the end of the line it is not uncommon fora patron to remove his tray from the tray rail and proceed to the diningarea without passing the checker or cashier. In that way the customeravoids paying for his food. An object of this invention is to provide animproved tray rail which will prevent such bypassing of the checker orcashier by holding each tray in position on the tray rail until it haspassed the checkers station.

While this invention pertains particularly to a lock-in rail for acafeteria, and while a cafeteria rail is specifically described herein,it will be apparent that the principles of this invention are applicableto other operations in which a tray is moved along a supporting rail.

In this specification and the accompanying drawings, I have shown anddescribed a preferred embodiment of my invention and severalmodifications thereof; but it is to be understood that these are notintended to be exhaustive not limiting of the invention, but on thecontrary are given for purposes of illustration in order that othersskilled in the art may fully understand the invention and the principlesthereof and the manner of applying it in practical use so that they maymodify and adapt it in various forms, each as may be best suited to theconditions of a particular use.

Further objects, advantages, uses and adaptations of the invention willbe apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, having like parts similarly indicated, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cut-away perspective view of a portion of I a cafeteriacounter and tray rail according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a modification of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a further modification; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a still further modification.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the serving counter is designatedas 1. Food is placed on the top of said counter for selection by thepatrons as they pass in front of said conuter. Extending along the frontof counter 1 is a tray rail assembly comprising longitudinal tubularmembers 4, S, 6, 7 and 3, extending lengthwise of counter it and spacedtherefrom by means of supporting brackets 2 and 3. Several of thesesupporting brackets are provided at spaced intervals along the front ofcounter 1 and only brackets 2 and 3 are shown here as representative ofall the supports.

Supporting bracket 2 is provided with a plate 11 and is attached tocounter 1 by means of fastening elements 12 and 13. Plate 11 may be castintegral with support 2 or may be fastened thereto by any method knownin the art such as welding, etc.

Spaced along and attached to the top of bracket 2 are arcuate-shapedblocks 14 which receive and hold in place tubular members 4, 5, 6, 7 and8. Bracket 2 is further provided with an upwardly extending leg 15 onthe end opposite the plate 11. Mounted at the base of leg 15 and on theinner surface thereof is one arcuate block 14 for holding tubular member7. Another arcuate block 14 is mounted at the upper end of leg 15 and onthe inner side thereof for holding tubular member 8.

Counter 1 is provided with an over-extending lip 9 which, as is shown inFIG. 2, extends beyond the plate 11 which attaches the bracket 2 to thecounter. Lip 9 is provided with a bottom surface which is located abovethe upper surface of tubular member 4 at a distance slightly greaterthan the thickness of a cafeteria tray A, shown in dotted line in FIGS.1 and 2, for a purpose to be described later.

Attention is called to the fact that due to the shape of the leg ofbracket 2 tubular member 8 is located directly above tubular member 7and is spaced therefrom a distance great enough to receive the outer lipof tray A.

Operation of the lock-in tray rail is as follows: at the end of thecounter where the dining patron begins his trip along the display offood, a stack of trays is conveniently placed so that each diner maytake a tray. At this end of the tray rail it is desirable that tubularmember 8 be of shorter length, at least one trays length shorter, thantubular member 7. Thus when the patron selects his tray he can lower itonto the tray rail, which at this point consists of only tubular members4, 5, 6 and 7. Then, as he moves the tray along the tray rail, the innerlip of the tray A will slide under bottom surface 10 of lip 9 of counter1, and the outer lip of tray A will slide between tubular members 7 and8.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the tray is in this position it can only bemoved in a direction along the counter parallel to tubular members 4, 5,6, 7 and 8. Due to the locking in of the lips of the tray no vertical orlateral movement is permitted; thus the tray and its contents cannot beremoved, either accidentally or intentionally, until the patron passesto the end of the counter past the checker or cashier.

If desired, tubular member 8 may be shorter than tubu lar member 7 atthe checker end of the counter to permit easy removal of the tray fromthe lock-in rail.

In the modification shown in FIG. 3, counter has over-extending lip 21with lip bottom surface 22. Supporting bracket 23 is attached to thefront of counter 20 by means of plate 25 and suitable fastening members.Arcuate blocks 26 on the top surface of bracket 23 hold tubular members27, 28 and 29 along which the bottom surface of tray B slides.Supporting bracket 23 also has a vertically extending leg 24. Instead ofproviding leg 24 with two tubular members between which the lip of trayB may slide, this modification shows a C-shaped longitudinal member withthe opening of the C placed toward the cafeteria counter.

As shown in FIG. 3, the inner lip of tray B slides along under bottomsurface 22 of lip 21 of counter 29 while the outer lip of tray B slidesin the opening of the C-member 30.

As explained in the operation of the tray rail shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,it is desirable that the lock-in portion should not extend the fulllength of the other tubular members. Thus in this modification shown inFIG. 3, C-shaped member 30 will be shorter than tubular members 2 7, 2 8and 29 at each end of the cafeteria counter to permit easy entry andexit of tray B from the tray rail.

FIG. 4 shows a further modification which is adaptable for use oncafeteria counters which do not have an overhanging lip at the topsurface thereof but are provided with a fiat front surface. In thisfigure, the supporting bracket 36 is attached to the counter by means ofplate 37. Bracket 36 has vertically extending leg 38 on the outer endthereof. Arcuate-shaped blocks 39 are provided on the top of bracket 36to hold tubular members 42, 43 and 44. Supported by and attached to leg38 is C-shaped tubular member 41 which, as in the modification shown inFIG. 3, has the opening of the C facing the counter. On the opposite endof bracket 36 and supported by plate 37, as well as bracket 36, isC-shaped longitudinal member 40. The opening of the C of member 40 facesoutwardly from the front of counter 35 thus making the opening of the Cof each member 40 and 41 directly opposite and facing each other.

As shown in FIG. 4, the inner lip of tray D slides in the opening ofC-mernber 40 while the outer lip of tray D slides in the opening ofC-member 41. The opening in each of members 40 and 41 is only slightlylarger than the thickness of the lip of tray D thus vertical and lateralmovement of the tray is prevented.

In the modification shown in FIG. 5, supporting bracket 46 is attachedto the front surface of counter 45 by means of plate 47. Themodification shown in this figure is also for use with a fiat-frontedcounter. Supporting bracket 46 has vertically extending leg 48 on theouter end thereof. Spaced along the top surface of bracket 46 arearcuate blocks 49 which hold tubular members 52, 53, 54, 55 and 56 inmuch the same manner as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Near thetop of plate 47 two arcuate blocks 49 are placed for holding tubularmembers 50 and 51. Attention is called to the fact that tubular member56 is placed directly above tubular member 55 a distance great enough toreceive the outer lip of tray E therein. Likewise, tubular member 50 isplaced the same distance directly above tubular member 51 so as toreceive the inner lip of tray E. Tubular members 50 and 56 are locatedin the same horizontal plane; tubular members 51 and 55 are in the samehorizontal plane. Tubular members 52, 53 and 54 are in the samehorizontal plane, said plane being located below the plane of tubularmembers 51 and 55 a distance calculated so that the bottom of the trayrests on members 52, S3 and 54 while the lips of the tray rest onmembers 51 and 55.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that which isshown in the drawings and described in the specification but only asindicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Restaurant equipment for self-serving persons comprising a fooddisplay counter with a horizontal top surface and a vertical frontsurface, a generally horizontal tray rail extending longitudinally alongthe front surface of said counter, means extending along the inner edgeof the tray rail for receiving the inner lip of a serving tray, saidmeans being such as to prevent either vertical or lateral movement of aserving tray, and means extending along the outer edge of said tray railfor receiving the outer lip of a serving tray, said means being such asto prevent either vertical or lateral movement of a serving tray.

2. Restaurant equipment for self-serving persons corn prising a fooddisplay counter with a horizontal top surface and a vertical frontsurface, a generally horizontal tray rail extending longitudinally alongthe front surface of said counter, means extending along the inner edgeof the tray rail for receiving the inner lip and preventing eithervertical or lateral movement of a serving tray, said inner lip-receivingmeans comprising a forward extension of the top surface of the counterto form a lip located above and extending over the tray rail a distancegreat enough to cover only the lip of a serving tray and extendingdownwardly a distance which permits the insertion of a serving traybetween the bottom surface of said lip and the upper surface of the trayrail, and means extending along the outer edge of said tray rail forreceiving the outer lip and preventing either vertical or lateralmovement of a serving tray.

3. Restaurant equipment for self-serving persons comprising a fooddisplay counter with a horizontal top surface and a vertical frontsurface, a generally horizontal tray rail extending longitudinally alongthe front surface of said counter, means extending along the inner edgeof the tray rail for receiving the inner lip and preventing eithervertical or lateral movement of a serving tray, said inner lip-receivingmeans comprising a C-shaped longitudinal member extending along thefront surface of the counter and positioned with the opening of the Cfacing in a direction away from the counter, said C-shaped member placedhigher than the tray rail a distance great enough for the lip of aserving tray to slidably fit in the opening of the C-shaped member whenthe serving tray is placed on top of the tray rail, and means extendingalong the outer edge of said tray rail for receiving the outer lip andpreventing either vertical or lateral movement of a serving tray.

4. Restaurant equipment for self-serving persons comprising a fooddisplay counter with a horizontal top surface and a vertical frontsurface, a generally horizontal tray rail extending longitudinally alongthe front surface of said counter, means extending along the inner edgeof the tray rail for receiving the inner lip and preventing eithervertical or lateral movement of a serving tray, said outer lip-receivingmeans comprising a plurality of longi tudinal members spaced apart in acommon vertical plane and spaced from each other a distance great enoughto slidably receive the lip of a serving tray, the lowermostlongitudinal member of said plurality being spaced in a plane higherthan the tray rail a distance great enough for the lip of the servingtray to rest thereon when the serving tray is placed on top of the trayrail, and means extending along the outer edge of said tray rail forreceiving the outer lip and preventing either vertical or lateral movement of a serving tray.

5. Restaurant equipment for self-serving persons comprising a fooddisplay counter with a horizontal top surface and a vertical frontsurface, a generally horizontal tray rail extending longitudinally alongthe front surface of said counter, means extending along the inner edgeof the tray rail for receiving the inner lip and preventing eithervertical or lateral movement of a serving tray, means extending alongthe outer edge of said tray rail for receiving the outer lip andpreventing either vertical or lateral movement of a serving tray, saidouter lip-receiving means comprising a C-shaped longitudinal memberpositioned with the opening of the G facing in a direction toward thecounter, said opening in the C-shaped member being large enough toreceive the lip of a serving tray, said G-shaped member placed higherthan the tray rail a distance great enough for the lip of a serving trayto slidably fit in the opening of the Cshaped member when the servingtray is placed on top of the tray rail.

6. Restaurant equipment for self-serving persons comprising a fooddisplay counter with a horizontal top surface and a vertical frontsurface, a generally horizontal tray rail extending longitudinally alongthe front surface of said counter, means extending along the inner edgeof the tray rail for receiving the inner lip and preventing eithervertical or lateral movement of a serving tray, means extending alongthe outer edge of said tray rail for receiving the outer lip andpreventing either vertical or lateral movement of a serving tray, saidouter lip-receiving means comprising a plurality of longitudinal membersspaced apart in a common vertical plane and spaced from each other adistance great enough to slidably receive the lip of a serving tray, thelowermost longitudinal member of said plurality being spaced in a planehigher than the tray rail a distance great enough for the lip of theserving tray to rest thereon when the serving tray is placed on top ofthe tray rail.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,013,025 Lane Dec. 26, 1911 1,677,764 Gloekler July 17, 1928 2,305,667Brentnall Dec. 22, 1942 2,336,670 Cavicchioli Dec. 14, 1943 2,622,541Smart Dec. 23, 1952 2,894,604 McMillan July 14, 1959

